Volunteers have been stuffing the nylons with hair at 15 warehouses close to the disaster zone, making huge "hairy sausages" or booms, she said.

The booms will be laid on beaches rather than out at sea, soaking up any oil that washes ashore.

The technique has been backed by the Applied Fabric Technologies, the world's second largest oil boom manufacturer.

Ms Gautier said donations had come from France, England, Spain, Brazil, Australia, Canada and the US, and that new volunteers were signing up all the time. There are constant updates on shipments on the charity's Facebook page.

Alpaca and sheep farmers have also got involved, according to the San Francisco-based charity.

Oil has been escaping at a rate of 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day since 20 April, after an explosion on a BP-leased rig.

BBC links

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.